Native Plants
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Smarty Plants Question Topics
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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| Erosion Control for Shady Ditches January 24, 2013 What plants can you recommend for erosion control along shady ditches in Northwest Indiana? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Hedge shrub for shade in Jacksonville FL January 17, 2013 Looking for shrub or hedge ( no Azaleas please )to line front of house that is full time shade in Jacksonville Florida ( something different, on the lines of tropical if possible). View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for water park January 03, 2013 Hi, I usually have no problem locating the right species for a given situation, but I may need some advice for this. I am looking for plants -- from annual & perennial flowers to shrubs and small t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native Plants for Shaded North Slope in Ohio January 03, 2013 I have a shaded north hillside which needs erosion control plants. Mostly moss and very thin grass grows there now. Please help! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for oak shade from Whitney TX December 24, 2012 I live in Whitney, Texas and have a number of beautiful Live Oak trees in a portion of my yard providing deep shade. Asian Jasmine grows in about 5 ft circle around them and then nothing! I have walk ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Texas native shade plants for metal troughs in Austin December 22, 2012 Interested in finding Texas natives that would do well in metal troughs in the shade. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Vine for complete shade in California December 21, 2012 I'm looking for a vine to put over my back door which is in complete shade. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shrub for mostly shaded area in The Woodlands TX December 19, 2012 What large shrub will grow in a partially shaded to mostly shaded tree area in The Woodlands(Spring), Texas which is north of Houston, Texas between Houston and Conroe? The Woodlands is in the very so... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Butterfly plants from Austin TX December 17, 2012 I have a butterfly garden in the front part of the house facing the south side. However it is also mostly under a few Oak trees that cast shadow over half of the front yard starting early afternoon. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants under Oak Trees in Austin TX December 10, 2012 Half of my small yard is in the shade of one big live oak and one kumquat. Nothing I plant grows in this shade. The other half of my yard gets sunlight. It is planted with Jasmine grass which grows w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Ground cover under Spruces from West Chester PA December 06, 2012 Trying to get a native groundcover (or any grass/wildflower/fern) planting established under a small stand of spruces. Established stand (30+ years old), so lots of needles on ground. Just about tot... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Evergreen Privacy Screen for Maryland November 19, 2012 I am looking for an evergreen that will suffice to be planted as a privacy screen between my property and my neighbors. Looking to plant a row at the property line. The lot is shaded most of the d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Groundcover to prevent erosion in Florida November 04, 2012 I live on a hill and put in a new side driveway and now I am seeing erosion along the driveway and can see the bottom of my concrete. Grass won't grow because its all shaded. What would be the best g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Evergreen shrub for East Texas October 31, 2012 I am looking for a small to medium evergreen shrub (native to east Texas) for a location that receives some sun in the morning but mostly shade. Something that blooms & attracts butterflys & hummingbi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Destructive landscape crews in The Woodlands TX October 20, 2012 Hi. We need help. We recently moved to a house where landscape crews have been blowing away the leaf litter from the front yard for many years. The underbrush was also cleared long ago. The result... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Is straggler daisy deer resistant from Austin October 08, 2012 Is straggler daisy (horseherb) deer resistant? We have lots of deer in our NW Hills, Austin neighborhood, and a lot of shade where not much will grow. Is that plant a good candidate for ground cover... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Area under live oaks from Austin October 08, 2012 We have many live oaks in our mostly shaded half acre. While I have tried to plant mostly native plants, often beneath them, the plants are showered with leathery leaves, acorns and sap, while oak sp... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Lantana failing to bloom from Tampa FL October 04, 2012 I reside in central Florida. I have planted several lantana the orange,red,yellow type. I don't have proper species name. They have been in the ground 3 weeks with 2" of potting soil around root ba... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Groundcover for rock garden under large oak October 02, 2012 I am planning a small rock garden under a large oak tree. I would like a spreading evergreen ground cover that will grow in the shade. Drought-tolerant would be preferred as I live in the high plains... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Low maintenance grass for shade in Conroe, TX September 15, 2012 What is the best low maintenance grass to plant in front lawn shaded, no traffic area? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover under Juniper for San Antonio September 14, 2012 I have a shaded area under juniper in the Hill Country of Texas that has many sprouts from the tree. We have to weed whack it to keep them under control. What ground cover could I use to enhance tha... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Stream Bank Erosion Control for Bryan/College Station August 16, 2012 I live in the Bryan/College Station area and need a ground cover to abate erosion on the bank of an intermittent stream. The bank is shaded. Do you have any suggestions? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Deer resistant, drought- and shade-tolerant plant for Pennsylvania August 14, 2012 Hello, I need a deer/drought resistant, shade tolerant, rocky soil perennial. I would like it to have some winter appeal. I live outside of Philadelphia, PA. Thank you so much for your time... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Oak leaf hydrangeas from Edwardsville IL August 13, 2012 Hello, I live in West Central Illinois (across the river from St. Louis) and I am considering planting several Oak leaf Hydrangea's in my yard. The location where I would like to plant them is und... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Groundcovers for area under blue spruce in Colorado August 10, 2012 I have a 40 ft blue spruce limbed up 6 ft in my yard on the west in Greeley, CO (50 mi N Denver, zone 4 or 5). It gets some sun underneath in the later afternoon and evening. Can you suggest 4 to 5 ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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